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A potential terrorist attack on a British military base was foiled on Sunday, September 27, by police, who arrested five people accused of possessing explosives and preparing an attack. The target was the Royal Air Force (RAF) base in Fairford, Gloucestershire, which has been used by US bombers for their missions against Iran since March. For this reason, investigators are also following up on the possibility that the action may have been ordered by the Tehran regime. US President Donald Trump described the arrests as “fantastic”.

"They were intent on causing great damage. We had them under surveillance for a long time and finally we were able to catch them," Trump said.

The alarm was raised shortly after midnight on Sunday when three suspicious vans were reported approaching the air base. After police intervened, the entire area was cordoned off, while the nearby village of Whelford was evacuated. Residents said they were woken up at dawn by police, who ordered them to leave their homes within minutes.

Special explosives disposal teams also intervened during the day, inspecting suspicious vans using remotely controlled robots. However, the incident was later declared “under control” and the search operation, led by counter-terrorism units, was not expanded further.

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham was kept informed of developments. He described Sunday's events as "deeply concerning" and added that he wanted "people to know that we will always take every step necessary to protect our communities and keep our country safe."

It was his predecessor, Keir Starmer, who, after initial hesitation, had made the base available to the Americans for carrying out “defensive” attacks against Iran. For this reason, too, in July, the Pasdaran, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, had declared that the Western bases from which the bombings were launched were legitimate targets, specifically mentioning the Fairford base as part of the threat.

In recent months, a series of anti-Semitic attacks in the UK, targeting synagogues and Jewish centers, have been claimed by a little-known pro-Iranian group. However, the government in London has suspected that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps may be behind the group.

Although this remains the main lead, British investigators are keeping all hypotheses open, especially after a series of hybrid attacks that have been recorded in Europe and attributed to Russian services. Great Britain is the European country that most strongly supports the Ukrainian resistance and, for this reason, has been particularly targeted by Kremlin propaganda.

It should also be noted that until recently, there did not appear to be any special security measures around the Fairford base. Especially during the first weeks of the American bombing of Iran, crowds of curious people gathered near the perimeter of the base to watch the spectacular takeoffs of military aircraft.

It was possible to approach within a few meters of the runways, even in vehicles, while the police carried out only sporadic checks. Security measures had recently been tightened, but this apparently did not prevent the suspects from attempting an attack with potentially serious consequences.

What happened in Gloucestershire also risks casting a shadow over the Labour Party conference, which began on Sunday in Liverpool and was intended to be an opportunity for Burnham to outline his vision for the future of Great Britain.

The Prime Minister abruptly left a live interview with the BBC and changed his morning show. The Fairford incident has also become a hot topic in the halls of Congress, with a former minister expressing fears that we could be witnessing the beginning of a new era of threats against British military installations./Corriere Della Sera


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